“Autumn, please?” Rylan begged. She hated it when he did this. And loved it. There was something about how much he wanted her that was endearing whether she wanted it to be or not.

She turned towards him, only to find his moss green eyes appraising her adoringly. There really wasn’t anything wrong with Rylan per say. In fact, there was a lot right with him. But one thing Autumn hated, was being told what to do. And her father had told her she had to marry Rylan. Something he’d been trying to get her to agree to for years on end. Pretty much since they were small children together.

“Nope,” she said, turning back away. Something had changed in the way she was viewing him, and it was making her decidedly uncomfortable. She’s never disliked Rylan. They’d even been friends for a time, but now she was having to fight the urge to jump his bones and do unspeakable things to him. Probably not something she should act on, it’d give rather mixed messages, and she wasn’t prepared to do that.

“All you have to do is say yes, and your father will stop his marriage contest…”

“It’s not about that Rylan. Gods, what’s wrong with you?”

He sucked in a deep breath at her use of the “g” word, though she wasn’t sure why. It was a well-known fact the gods weren’t actually real. Yet even so, a lot of dryads still worshipped the people who were said to father their ancestors. It was a load of rubbish if anyone bothered to think about it, but still.

“I just want you to be happy,” he protested, a conflicted look flitting across his face. She didn’t know what to make of that, so chose to ignore it.

“Then stop insisting on this stupid marriage farce.”

“You think I have a choice?” he half-shouted. “I’m as pushed into this as you are, Autumn. Don’t get me wrong, I want you. A lot. But that doesn’t mean I don’t care what you want.”

“Then why haven’t you stopped it?” To her annoyance, her voice cracked slightly as she spoke, and she refused to turn and look at him. She wouldn’t be breaking on his account.

“When the choice is me or some other random guy you don’t know? Have you met any of those guys who were here earlier before?”

She just about stopped herself from shaking her head. There he had a point. She didn’t know any of them. Except for one meeting with Nate. She’d been pleased to see him, and not just because he was her one chance of freedom. The pull towards him was almost as strong as it was towards Rylan right now. She needed to get her emotions into check.

“Leave,” she bit out, not knowing how else to fix the issue.

“But-”

“Leave, Rylan.”

“He’s not leaving, the ceremony is about to start,” her father said as he entered the room. Autumn scowled at him. She’d decided they definitely weren’t on speaking terms right now.

“Is anyone even here for it?” Rylan asked, clearly not believing anyone would be.

“Yes, two men.”

Autumn’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe Nate had come through for her after all. She turned towards the two men, to find them conversing in hushed tones. Probably in an attempt to figure out how to trap her still.

She peeked out into the hallway, surprised to see her father was right. And thankful that she recognised the golden-brown hair on the back of one of their heads. She sighed in relief. Nate had made it then. Hopefully he’d pass her father’s tests then.

“I see you’re excited,” he said jovially, patting her on the back, and seemingly completely clueless to her inner turmoil. She scowled, but covered it quickly.

“Let’s get this over with,” Rylan added with a sigh, pushing past them both and into the hallway.

Autumn followed hastily, not feeling she had any choice in the matter. They both clearly had plans for her. As she entered, Nate turned around, fixing his gaze on her, and she almost got lost in his eyes. Until she shook herself out of it that was. No way was she falling for some guy, that’s not how she worked.

“Good evening,” her father said, smiling widely as he moved past her and out into the hall, beaming at the men assembled there and leaving her no choice but to follow.

She bowed her head, not wanting to look at any of the four men in the room. They didn’t deserve her attention.

Her father made his way towards the two men, and she noticed Nathair puff out his chest in pride. He’d succeeded then. But what about the other man? She glanced up and instantly noticed the nerves written across his face. Whatever he was about to present her father, wasn’t actually what he’d asked for then. This wasn’t going to go well for the man.

Her father took the golden apple from the man’s hand and lifted it to his mouth. Despite her anger, Autumn stifled a giggle. She could feel the life force emanating from the fruit, and knew her father wouldn’t suffer any consequences from ingesting it. As if on cue, he took a deep bite, and she heard a satisfying crunch.

Not a solid gold apple as requested then. Her father dropped the apple to the floor and crushed it under his boot. She really didn’t envy the man. Particularly when he scarpered off out of the doorway, and likely out of her life forever. One down, one to go, though whether it’d be Rylan or Nate left standing at the end, she wasn’t so sure.

Confidently, Nate held the apple out for her father, who took it with a satisfied grin on his face. He could feel the lack of any kind of magic as much as Autumn could, meaning Nathair had done it. Autumn’s heart skipped a beat.

“Very well,” her father said, a satisfied smirk playing at his lips. “If you can find me an enchanted tree that grows golden apples, you can marry my daughter.”

“Dad!” Autumn blurted out, horrified that he’d set such a challenge. Surely, she was worth more than that? Except he was already selling her to Rylan, so what did it even matter?

“Do you not wish to try the cake, sir?” Nate asked, surprisingly calm given the task he’d just been given.

“If you can produce a golden apple, then a cake made with asp’s milk is no issue. Now it’s a golden tree, or nothing.”

“Very well, I shall return tomorrow morning with your tree,” Nate said, bowing his head reverently. “Autumn,” he acknowledged her, and her traitorous heart fluttered.

She nodded her head in return, feeling it would be rude not to. He smiled, then turned and left her home. She didn’t know if he’d actually be back. Or if she even wanted him to. Though seeing the slightly startled look on Rylan’s face, she hoped he would be.